April 30, 2018
Self care is so important and it seems to be the latest hot topic – have we finally moved on from avocados, kale and quinoa?
It really is SOOOO important!
You cannot fill someone else’s cup if your cup is empty; so fill your cup! And fill it with as much goodness as possible. I encourage you to over flow your cup with goodness! When your cup runs dry you will most likely experience stress in your body. Stress can lead to a multitude of issues including decrease in immune system function, digestive issues, fatigue, and headaches, just to name a few. Did you know that stress can also deplete the levels of vitamin A, E, C, B’s, zinc, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and essential fatty acids?!
The idea of having a weekly hour long candle lit bath, while I sip on something yummy and read a leisurely book sounds amazing, but if I am going to be honest here, that set up is very, very, very, low on my list. Filling your cup does not have to always be that romantic. There are lots of other ways that you can take time out of your day for yourself, little ways to refill your cup.
I try to fill my cup with goodness by doing little things for myself throughout the day. I promise you that I don’t always succeed in this; 1- because I am human, and 2 – being a mom of 2 under 2 keeps me pretty busy taking care of others. But I try!
Here are some of my favourite ways to fill my cup with goodness:
Washing my face in the morning. This seemingly insignificant daily task can be extremely refreshing and make you feel SO good. Even though I am a skin therapist and know all about skincare, I won’t lie to you and say I do this everyday. Because sometimes I don’t (Shhh, don’t tell my spa co-workers!). Sometimes my mornings start with everyone being hungry and needy at the same time and I don’t even get to look in the mirror until almost dinner time!
Meditating. Even if I only get 5 minutes or less at a time of deep breathing and clearing my mind, it is still a little way to fill my cup (and lungs) with goodness. Meditation does not always have to be rigid, and strict. I enjoy bringing meditation into the everyday tasks that I have to do anyways – like dishes and laundry! Instead of letting my mind wander to what is next on the never ending “to-do” list, I try to stay focused on the task at hand. These are things I have to do anyways, so I might as well meditate my way through them!
Exercise. Exercise is important for a couple different reasons. Not only does exercise help you look and feel good, but it helps to prevent cardiovascular and age related diseases. Taking 30-60 minutes out of my day to work on my physical endurance and strength gives me lots of regular goodness to fill my cup. Exercise can come in many forms other than running and weight lifting. Some examples are: walking, biking, swimming, hiking, yoga, skating, rock climbing, paddle boat riding, and canoeing.
Being in nature. Nature is full of goodness. It can be extremely grounding and distressing to spend time outdoors – especially now when our days are filled with screen time and concrete jungles. A walk in nature is an amazing way to fill our cup with goodness!
Eating good foods. Filling your metaphorical and physical cup, bowl and plate with goodness is critical to self care. What we fill ourselves with has a huge impact on our mood, how we function, and how much goodness we feel inside and out – I’ll save more on that topic for another blog post!
One of my favourite things to fill my cup with is this delicious and full of goodness chocolatey drink. In this beauty we have anti-stress, mood and energy boosting nutrients such as iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, essential fatty acids, antioxidants and fiber. All of these packed into this delicious and full of goodness drink make it an awesome treat on a chaotic day!
Fill Your Cup – Chocolatey Goodness
Ingredients
- 3 Dates
- 1/4 Cup raw cashews
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 Tbsp maca root powder
- 2 Tbsp raw cacao powder (or unsweetened coco powder – use only 1 tbsp if you want it a bit less chocolaty)
- 2 Tbsp raw honey
- Pinch of Himalayan salt
- 1 1/2 Cup water
Put all ingredients in blender and blend on “hot soup” setting. If your blender doesn’t have presets then blend until smooth, transfer chocolatey goodness to a small sauce pan, stirring occasionally and heat until desired temperature.
Fill you cup, and enjoy the goodness!
